


A Matter of Blood

by BornToFly02



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mob, BAMF Alec Lightwood, BAMF Magnus Bane, Bad Parent Robert Lightwood, Hurt Alec Lightwood, M/M, Magnus Bane Is A Freewheeling Bisexual, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Maryse Lightwood Redemption, Protective Magnus Bane, Robert Lightwood Being an Asshole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24244036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornToFly02/pseuds/BornToFly02
Summary: New York is run by three factions: The Fallen, The Circle, and The Clave. Each of them reaching from elsewhere into the city.For the Clave, stationed at an undisclosed location in Europe, Robert Lightwood took control of the city through law. His wife became the Mayor, his family infiltrating the Police Departments.The Circle, a splinter faction that broke from the Clave and based themselves on a freighter, were controlled by Jonathan Morgenstern, son of the group's leader. They dealt in drugs, and lashed out at any and everyone, creating a blanket of fear around their name.The Fallen, stationed in Indonesia, were led by Magnus Bane, also known as the High Warlock. He had eyes and ears everywhere, controling the city's night life.It's no surprise that the worlds collide. There's only one city... and wouldn't everyone love to be King?
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Alec Lightwood & Max Lightwood, Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis & Alec Lightwood
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story will contain a mix of elements from both the show and the books, be warned that their may be some spoilers to one or the other

Classical Music echoed through the halls of the decadent home. If one could even call it that. All the people in the house wore fancy outfits and fake smiles. Robert and Maryse Lightwood stood at opposite sides of the room, using the excuse of talking to their guests to avoid each other. Their nine year old son Max had found some other kids his age and they were talking quietly in a corner. If their parents saw them giggling they'd be forced to stay by their sides for the rest of the evening. Their daughter, Isabelle Lightwood stayed with her boyfriend, a man who was part of an intelligence network that spanned across all of New York, the Seelies. He displeased her parents due to the fact that Seelies could be trusted to tell the truth, to everyone. They had no true allegiance. They were an asset and a danger to all of the criminal underground.

Half the people present were important figures in New York while the other half were important to the city's underworld. The Lightwoods balanced on the knife's edge between law and crime using whichever side was most opportune to achieve their goals. The Gala was one designed to maintain and display connections, to boast and threaten under the guise of humility that hung like a shroud. No one believed the false benevolence but none strayed from the script.

Maryse approached her daughter, completely ignoring the man beside Isabelle, her smile like a doll's. Both women shared luxurious ebony hair, the younger leaving it to cascade down her back while the older pulled hers back severely, ever prim and proper.

"Isabelle, if you would kindly aid in keeping our guests entertained." It was said in a sweet tone that did little to mask the tension beneath it.

"I already am, mother." Isabelle replied cordially, with a similarly plastic smile before turning slightly to Meliorn with a flirty smile curling her lips.

Maryse pursed her lips but knew that pressing would only cause a scene. Her midd- first child had no shame or concern for the family's status and would have no problem with protesting dramatically over the perceived slight of having to uphold the Lightwood image.

"Just, be sure to take some time to interact with someone other than your... lover. Remember, we are watching." Maryse muttered under her breath, for her daughter's ears only, while shooting a pointed glance in her husbands direction.

As she walked away and Izzy fixed her posture, Maryse sighed inwardly, thinking of her perfect family. The price they paid for power. She grabbed a glass of champagne, making her way to a small group of rich, local entrepreneurs to make conversation. It was hard to be a Lightwood.

* * *

Alexander Lightwood wasn't at the Gala. He never was. Alec Lightwood hadn't been seen at one of his parents' events in years. He came out to them at sixteen, they let him leave that night. It was more than some Clave families would do. That night while the Lightwood family showed off their wealth and high status, Alec Lightwood was at home in his apartment going through paperwork. When he was kicked out of his home, Alec had decided to stay as far from his family as possible. Of course it was difficult seeing as he was running his own gym that's frequented by many members of the city's downworld.

It was almost two a.m. when the door opened to let in Simon Lewis. Simon was possibly the most awkward human being Alec had ever met and as far from the suave, self-righteous Clave as one could get. It's one of the reason why Alec let this bumbling kid become his roommate all those years ago. One wouldn't think the pair would be friends. Alec was very serious and didn't tolerate fools but somehow it worked.

“Are you still up? You knew I was gonna be in late man, you didn’t have to wait up.”

“And that’s exactly why I didn’t.” Alec replied flatly. “Had some paperwork for the gym that needs to get done.”

“Remind me again why you don’t just hire someone to do it for you?”

“Like who, you?"

"You do realize that plenty of people are looking for work at any given time."

"Yeah, well, I'm not open to trusting others with my business and finances when I am perfectly capable of handling it myself."

The nerdy boy rolled his eyes at his roommate. He knew that he was a Lightwood but to that point was unaware of the connection between the city's leader and The Clave. To many people of the city, the Clave was some faceless entity pulling strings from behind the curtain that protected all its members from any retribution or consequences they may face. Alec couldn't be more relieved that he ended up with someone oblivious to his darker family ties.

"Well, Clary says hi and have fun with your paperwork. See ya in the morning."

Alec hummed in recognition without looking up from his work, intent on getting it done before dawn. His gym was important to him. It allowed him to keep in shape, make a living, and make tentative connections, making himself someone not many would come after. It was one of the few places where he could still be with his siblings what with his entire family's involvement with the Clave.

Issue was, he'd recently lost a section of clients. Some people who went were normal, everyday, law-abiding citizens. Most were part of a gang. Members of the Fallen were alright. While weary of him at first, they quickly warmed up to him and proved to be fairly decent. Barely any Clave members came but those who did had been his friends for years and had silently supported him when he came out, not caring about his sexuality. The last ones were the Circle members. They came to his gym, keeping to themselves for several years. But now that Robert Lightwood was up for reelection, they started getting nasty. Snide comments when he passed, glares whenever he entered the room. It escalated until one of them tried to attack Alec as he was locking up a few weeks back.

He had since closed his gym to any active Circle members, needing some sort of confirmation that it wasn't a ploy so as to insure the safety of himself and his employees. An example of this, Clary's mother, Jocelyn Fairchild. The woman had been born into the Clave but married Valentine Morgenstern, founder of the Circle. Made sense that she would join him. After their divorce, Jocelyn tried to leave the life entirely along with Clary but had some difficulty. She managed to fend off any of her ex-husband's lackeys and hide that part of her life from her daughter.

Jocelyn had become one of his first frequent customers. He occasionally babysat (or chaperoned as time crept on) Clary when Jocelyn needed help. Her husband Luke was a police officer and didn't have much time to watch his stepdaughter other than when she was willing to hang out at the station.

Maybe an hour or so before dawn, Alec finally finished the last of his paperwork, rearranging his finances to account for the lost memberships. On the bright side, people who didn't come due to the presence of the Circle would probably bring more business. It was hard, living without the safety net of his family's - his old family's - wealth to support him but he had a good enough head on his shoulders that he was able to make due and stay afloat.

Gathering his files, he made his way to his room, determined to get some sleep. Simon would still be sleeping by the time Alec woke up at 6:30 so the older of the two would have to make a quick pot himself before leaving for work, and he needed to pick up some new towels as one of the people who'd been boxing the previous morning had a nosebleed and ruined a towel staunching the blood.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and was out within seconds.

* * *

Magnus Bane was well-known to the downworld. His club, Pandemonium, was his castle. He held court there almost every night, sprawling out on a couch where all could see him. He was one of the biggest threats to both the Clave and the Circle and had been targeted many times. Each attempt was unsuccessful and only served to support his already impressive reputation. He may not always see eye to eye with his father but New York was his. They may be the King and Prince of the Fallen but they kept to their own realms.

The same night of the Lightwood Gala, Magnus sat confidently in his club in tight pants and a silk shirt, rings adorning his hands and necklaces draped around his neck. A young man in a suit sat stiffly by his side, dark eyes surveying the club with thinly veiled paranoia.

"Really Raphael, lighten up, get yourself a drink."

"I'd rather not. Why did you have to drag me to your little court tonight?"

"Because you, my emotionally stunted friend, need to learn how to relax. Why don't you go mingle." Magnus said in a deceptively uncaring tone.

Rolling his eyes, Raphael reluctantly stood and moved to meld into the crowd, bumping into a rather awkward guy with curly brown hair and glasses. The mob boss watched the man he saw as a little brother of sorts smile slightly at the ramblings of the nerdy guy and smirked to himself. 

He was well aware of the Gala happening across town and was honestly glad to not be attending. The Clave had always had a holier-than-thou attitude due to their close relationship with the legal side of the war. All their strict rules and prejudices disgusted him. Sure, it was amusing to flaunt his sexuality to those stuck-up homophobes but tonight he just didn't have the energy to play nice.

Sipping his martini, Magnus nodded to his friend Ragnor who went to get the first appointment.

He had a long night ahead of him.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of a body hitting the mat echoed through the gym. It was getting late so there weren't many people there but Alec didn't mind. He didn't enjoy being watched. His sparring partner however, did enjoy causing a spectacle.

"C'mon Jace, getting a little rusty with all those fancy galas?"

"Not a chance." The blonde smirked, quickly rising to face his pseudo brother. "You know I can take you down anytime."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

What followed was a quick exchange of hits. Raised from a young age to be members of the Clave, both young men knew each move the other would make before it was made. It wasn't too long until Jace was back on his ass on the mat.

"You haven't been taking enough time to train." Alec said in a blunt, matter-of-fact tone, moving to where his water bottle sat off to the side.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll never understand how you handled all that paperwork. I miss cracking skulls." Jace sighed, taking a drink of his own.

Alec grimaced himself. He was an expert marksman and a prodigy in close combat but he had never taken the same joy Jace did in 'cracking skulls'. He gained more satisfaction from outmaneuvering his opponents, backing them into a corner where their only option is to back down or face their own destruction. He had been the pride and joy of the Clave, seen as the brightest of his generation, the one with the most potential. His homosexuality was a great disappointment.

"Well, maybe you'd be able to uh... 'crack more skulls' if you kept up in training." Alec pointed out as they got back on the mat for another round.

"I just don't have time anymore. I had no idea how much you were doing all the time."

"It's been several years since I... left. I thought you would've figured out how to balance everything by now."

"Nah, Maryse took over most of your workload once you were gone, I didn't really have much more to do. Now Robert is cracking down, says she's coddling Izzy and I too much."

Alec snorted, rolling quickly to avoid a high kick.

"Since when does Maryse coddle."

"Probably since she was forced to disown her oldest child."

The blonde once again fell back from a particularly harsh hit to the stomach but recovered quickly, sweeping a leg to finally knock down the brunette.

"Please, she wasn't forced to do anything."

"You know she was, Alec. As much as the Clave balances between the law and crime they would have had no problem with letting Robert choose what do do with both her life and yours."

"But I didn't tell Robert, I told Maryse. Then she told Robert and I was tossed aside like a finished mark."

The door opened, followed by the click-clack of six inch heels.

"Alright you two, lighten up. We're going out." Isabelle said as she approached the pair.

"You sure you don't want a quick spar before you head out Izzy?" The oldest of the three asked with a rare, soft smile that was reserved for his siblings and closest friends.

"Oh no big brother, you're coming too. Before you say no, this isn't business. Just the three of us hanging out, having fun. You do know what that is, don't you?" She teased.

Alec pursed his lips, eyes flickering between Jace and Izzy as he tried to determine just how serious they were about this idea. Clubs and parties really weren't his thing. There were too many people, too many noises. Personal space was merely some vague, imagined concept in the clubs and if there was one thing Alec appreciated, it was having his personal space. Nevertheless, he gave in to his siblings. It wasn't the first time and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Leaving the gym in the care of the night staff, the two boys quickly got changed ("you really didn't need to bring me clothes to wear Iz" "I really did big brother, just go change") and left to join the only Lightwood daughter in her fancy car.

* * *

The neon sign outside Pandemonium was reflected in the puddles on the ground and illuminated the line of people waiting to get in.

"Really Izzy?"

"Pandemonium may be the Fallen Prince's court but as long as we don't get into any fights, anyone is welcome."

"And you trust this one not to get in a fight?" Alec inquired incredulously, motioning towards their blonde companion.

"Hey! I can control myself!" Jace sputtered indignantly.

The blood siblings snorted in unison.

The line wasn't moving very quickly but they made it into the club itself soon enough. The music was deafening, the baseline thrumming through the floor. Sweaty bodies glistened under the strobe lights on the dance floor, a grinding mess of limbs. Alec sighed as his siblings almost immediately disappeared into the crowd, leaving him to make a beeline for the bar.

Ordering himself just a regular beer, he turned and leaned back against the bar to observe.

He couldn't find his sister at first but was unsurprised to spot her in the center of the crowd, rune tattoos proudly displayed as she moved her hair from her neck trying to get some relief from the heat that came from the press of warm bodies in an enclosed space. Jace wasn't far from her, obviously enjoying himself from his place surrounded by several young women on the dance floor.

Alec hadn't had his beer in hand for five minutes when he was approached by a clearly intoxicated young woman. Immediately feeling uncomfortable, he did his best to ignore her but it was difficult when she was pressing her chest against him. Her long brown hair had probably been styled expertly at the beginning of the night but by now the large curls were mussed and had partially come out with the sweat that shimmered over her body. Her makeup was smudged slightly and her chest was heaving.

"Hey handsome, wanna buy me a drink?" she breathed into his ear.

He recoiled slightly, trying to gently keep her out of his personal space as his nose scrunched against the smell of tequila on her breath.

"Sorry Ms. but I don't think you need another drink."

The girl giggled, completely blind to Alec's discomfort.

"If you say so. How 'bout you take me home and we can have some fun."

"No thank you, you aren't really my type."

"And just what is your type?" A smooth voice asked from behind him, prompting Alec to spin.

The Latino man fought to maintain his composure as he was faced with possibly the most gorgeous man he'd ever come across. The man was covered in glitter and tasteful jewelry. His shirt looked silky and was almost completely undone, displaying a toned torso. His hair was spiked up, streaked with red to match his outfit and his eyes stood out what with the expert makeup. Alec couldn't help but find him stunning, especially seeing as the makeup was well-done while not making him seem feminine.

And he was just staring like an idiot.

"Uh..."

Alec didn't even take notice as the intoxicated woman was escorted away by one of the bar tenders, too caught up in how the man's lips quirked up into a confident smirk at his lack of eloquence.

"I'm Magnus, I don't believe we've been formally introduced."

"Alec."

Magnus' eyes scanned him leisurely before catching Alec's gaze.

"So what's a guy like you doing alone over here?"

Alec blushed and looked down a bit.

"Getting dragged along by my siblings. This... isn't really my scene."

"Well that just won't do. What do you say to coming with me, I can show you the fun part of this party."

Alec looked down at the offered hand, the painted black nails and the sparkling rings. Trusting random people you met at a club was never the best idea but Izzy was always on his case about his dating life so what's the harm? Worst comes to worst he wasn't defenseless and could easily get out of any situation he's uncomfortable with. With that in mind, he grabbed Magnus' hand.

The glittery man smiled at him before starting to lead Alec easily through the mass of people. It was only as they got closer to the VIP lounge that his brain came back online and things started clicking. Pandemonium, court of the Fallen Prince. Who is Magnus Bane. Known for his daring and often sparkly style. Head of the American branch of the Fallen gang.

He had never met Magnus before, he hadn't been involved enough to meet Magnus for the business and clubbing, as previously stated, was never really his thing. If he had still been part of the Clave, this interaction would've been a big no-no. As it was, Alec was free of previous obligations to the family business and as such decided to throw caution to the wind.

Magnus led him over to a long leather couch and waived over for drinks.

Accepting his drink with a shy smile, Alec only took one sip before turning to his companion with cautious curiosity.

"Not that I'm not flattered, but why me? I'm sure at least half of the people in this club would love to have even a second of your attention."

Magnus met his gaze evenly with a confidence that Alec had never genuinely perfected. Oh, he could act confidant, it was required as a member of his former family, but he had too many insecurities that came with hiding who he really was for so long for the act to become real. The disowned Lightwood soon broke the gaze in favour of inspecting his beverage.

"You interest me, Alexander. I could tell that you didn't recognize me immediately but were still at least a little interested. This is something I don't come across often. Then, add the fact that you still aren't trying to get anything from me, and you can colour me intrigued."

"You really think you're so good at reading people?"

"You aren't that hard to read, Darling. Something tells me you aren't a fan of guile."

* * *

Jace smiled at one of the girls dancing around him before glancing away to check on his siblings.

Izzy not to far, enjoying the thrum of the base pounding through the building, and Alec lurking over by the-

Not by the bar. Alec. King of the introverts. Was not holding his usual place by the bar. Even as Jace was scanning the area surrounding the dance floor, he slipped away from the girls and made his way to his sister.

"Iz! Do you know where Alec is?!" he yelled over the music.

She immediately snapped to attention, dark eyes doing a quick scan of her own.

"You search that side, I'll search this side, we'll meet in the middle."

Their older brother could handle himself. Everyone knew that he'd been disowned by the Lightwoods, kicked out of the Clave, and that his gym was neutral territory. But not everyone cared that Robert and Maryse had cut ties, and they weren't in Alec's gym. There was no way for them to guarantee his safety.

The pair split up, moving with practiced ease through the crush of bodies. It was hard to see what with how dark the club was, but eventually they met back up in the middle.

"Nothing. You?"

The golden boy shook his head, scanning the dance floor.

"Oh shit." Izzy breathed.

Her mouth hung open in a rare display of shock, eyes glued to the raised VIP lounge. When he followed her gaze, Jace didn't react much better. Their brooding, antisocial brother was sitting on a couch, smile on his face, with a rather familiar man.

Magnus. Bane.

The Fallen Prince himself.

"Oh hell no."


End file.
